Adventure 6 night review

[wineandbeach]

Just off Adventure 6 night Canada/NE Cruise.  We were cruising with my mom and dad and 3 siblings and our spouses (10 people) to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday.  This was my 17th cruise, 7th RC and 4th on Voyager class.  

 

Embarkation and debarkation were as easy as could be.  Sailed out of Bayonne a number of years ago and it definitely wasn’t that easy then.

 

The staff was great!  From start to finish, I felt they went out of their way to please like on no other ship I have recently been on.  My dad and mom checked in at the assembly drill and right away a crew member escorted them and the 2 others they were with to a lounge to sit for the drill instead of standing outside.  Throughout the crew they went over and above to make this a special birthday cruise for my mom.  When we had a celebration in the Blue Moon, the staff was right there to help prepare for the surprise. One day, my sister asked for a drink, not realizing the bar wasn’t opened yet and the bartender getting ready to open asked her what she wanted and said he would go to a different bar to get it for her.  Examples like this happened all week with the smiling and friendly staff. 

 

I felt the ship was beautiful, It has been awhile since I have been on a ship with a promenade and I still say WOW every time I look at it.  I was on the Adventure 12 years ago and they have made many changes my now adult children would have loved back then when they were on it.  If you are looking for scratches and stains, you might find them.  If you are there to enjoy, you, like me, won’t notice any signs of wear and tear. 

 

We enjoyed the main dining room.  First time with early seating and is definitely an adjustment and possibly why I felt more crowded.  When we have late seating, many people are sleeping by the time we got out so the ship felt emptier.   Dinners were good, service was good. I was very impressed with the desserts - very good! We did go to Chops one night and Giovanni’s one night. They were both exceptional. We went to Giovanni’s the last night and would have probably gone more if we hadn’t waited so long to try it:  Service and food were amazing. 

 

 My brother and sister in law did a Sushi Making Class on the first sea day.  They enjoyed it - If you like Sushi, I recommend it.  They made a lot of sushi and then were able to invite the rest of us (who like sushi) to come and eat it with them.  They could not bring it out of Izumi due to health restrictions.  Other than that, Izumi always seemed empty and really seemed like a waste of space on the busy promenade.  Would have been nice to use that as a different venue to scatter the crowds.  

 

The Windjammer has been mentioned in another post.  Horrible horrible lines on the first day.  Others said it always is - 17th cruise and have never seen anything close to this.  The line just to get in stretched outside and down deck 11 all day.  Possibly because we sailed at 3 so everyone was getting on at the same time?   Cafe Promenade was open and later in the day they had hamburgers and hot dogs on the promenade.  Not sure if they always do or if that was to help ease the pain of the Windjammer. First sea day was closer to normal crowd at lunch - very crowded but at least not a long line to get in.  Just took time to get a seat.  Other days were just your normal crowds not bad at all.   I love the omelette stations now - you order what you want and they give you a pager and call you when it is ready.  

 

Tender at Bar Harbor.  They used whale watching boats which were big comfortable, nice and even have bathrooms - but very inefficient.  If you were unlucky enough (like me both ways) to be one of the first ones on, it is at least a half hour wait to fill the boat.  It took us 1 hr and 20 minutes from the time we got in line at Bar Harbor to the time we stepped on the ship. 

 

We enjoyed more shows than we normally do due to the early dinner.  We learned quick that you had to get there early.  The ice skating is my favorite.  We enjoyed Raul on the piano in the Schooner bar.  Difficult to get a seat but there is a lot of comfy places to stand with a ledge to put your glass.  We all had the drink package.  Didn’t work great for me since I am a Chianti drinker and unlike other lines, I was not able to get a glass with the package.  The main dining room had a glass for $17 - a bit too much to pay the extra 5 after paying for the drink package.  Giovanni’s had Chianti included in the package - if the ship has it, they should have it in more venues.

 

Pictures:  We had the picture package.  Royal needs to work on their facial recognition system.  I had to go to the desk a few times to search for and add my pictures.  They were never there.  There is a way to look for them at the Kiosk but sometimes we still couldn't find them.  I have no idea what pictures we never ended up getting since I wasn't keeping track.  Staff was always helpful in trying to find the missing pics.

 

I felt the crowds on this ship more than any other I have been on.  We always sail in summer so the extra kids were not a problem although one of the announcers said it was a record number.  I feel Royal needs to work on having events to scatter the crowds on ships where the outdoor area isn’t used as it is in hot weather.  Our goal when we set out on this cruise was to make mom have an unforgettable birthday celebration and for dad to enjoy himself - RC accomplished both these tasks so it was a great cruise.  If I were to go again, I probably wouldn’t head North or wouldn’t have early seating - unless of course Mom and Dad want another celebration!

Edited July 1, 2019 by wineandbeach

[UtahCruiser1230]

Thanks for the review!  We leave in 19 days for this same cruise.  Did you have only one formal night and what night was it?

[wineandbeach]

Formal night was day 2 and it was the only one.  Day 5 was Lobster night but not formal.

( we just went to the National Parks in Utah in April -  Soo Beautiful!)

[davekathy]

Thanks for taking us along on your cruise. 

[Maui Girl]

Wineandbeach, thanks for the review!  I have a question for you, since you cruised with a large family group. We do most of our cruising on Princess, so I need help with Royal. There are 7 of us cruising this October on Liberty of the Seas and I’m wondering how we will keep track of each other. Does RCI have a texting/ messaging app available onboard, similar to “Princess at Sea” ?   I don’t want to buy wi-fi because we want to spend time together not on our devices but it would be nice to be able to message to find someone in the group!  

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, Maui Girl said:

Wineandbeach, thanks for the review!  I have a question for you, since you cruised with a large family group. We do most of our cruising on Princess, so I need help with Royal. There are 7 of us cruising this October on Liberty of the Seas and I’m wondering how we will keep track of each other. Does RCI have a texting/ messaging app available onboard, similar to “Princess at Sea” ?   I don’t want to buy wi-fi because we want to spend time together not on our devices but it would be nice to be able to message to find someone in the group!  

 

As of right now, Liberty has no texting capability on the RCI App.  Perhaps by October that will be functional.

[wineandbeach]

A couple of us used Voom but most of the time we didn't carry our phones with us.  Even if one or two in the group have it, it makes it easier to connect.   3 couples had rooms right next to each other and the other 2 were on the same floor. Easy to leave a note on the door if needed. It was surprising how we always found each other, but we did with little effort.  Port days we always had a meeting place.  We also had a meeting place for a before dinner drink (when we had time).  After dinner we always had a plan A and plan B and always found each other.  It was nice to escape our phone addiction for a week.

[smokeykat]

Thanks for the review! We are leaving on Saturday doing this cruise. You mentioned the tender at Bar Harbor. How long did it take you to get on the tender and get to shore from the ship? I am asking because we have a tour to meet up with at 9:30 am and I want to make sure we are on time. 

[Maui Girl]

1 hour ago, wineandbeach said:

A couple of us used Voom but most of the time we didn't carry our phones with us.  Even if one or two in the group have it, it makes it easier to connect.   3 couples had rooms right next to each other and the other 2 were on the same floor. Easy to leave a note on the door if needed. It was surprising how we always found each other, but we did with little effort.  Port days we always had a meeting place.  We also had a meeting place for a before dinner drink (when we had time).  After dinner we always had a plan A and plan B and always found each other.  It was nice to escape our phone addiction for a week.

Thanks,  it looks like the rollout of the texting app is pretty slow so I won’t count on it.  Our 3 rooms are close together so I guess sticky notes and planning ahead will have to do!  I’m sure we’ll be fine, it’s just a little weird trying to figure out the ins and outs of a new cruise line.  

[wineandbeach]

11 hours ago, smokeykat said:

Thanks for the review! We are leaving on Saturday doing this cruise. You mentioned the tender at Bar Harbor. How long did it take you to get on the tender and get to shore from the ship? I am asking because we have a tour to meet up with at 9:30 am and I want to make sure we are on time. 

You can send one person down to get the tender tickets for the whole group and then just wait for your number to be called which didn't take long.  If you are lucky enough to be one of the last ones on the tender, it is a short process.  If you are one of the first, it takes at least a half hour to load the tender.  I would give it an hour to be safe.  We had a private tour and were a little late but he had told us to take our time and he would wait.

[smokeykat]

23 hours ago, wineandbeach said:

You can send one person down to get the tender tickets for the whole group and then just wait for your number to be called which didn't take long.  If you are lucky enough to be one of the last ones on the tender, it is a short process.  If you are one of the first, it takes at least a half hour to load the tender.  I would give it an hour to be safe.  We had a private tour and were a little late but he had told us to take our time and he would wait.

Thank you! Just what I needed to know 😊

[snoopy5386]

We are sailing on Adventure on the Canada itinerary in two weeks! Couple of questions - how cold was it out on deck most of the trip? My kids are very excited to use the pools and water park area, will this be possible outside the first and last day? Are the pools heated? Should we bring light blankets with us to sit out on the balcony with in the evening?

What time did you cross under the bridge? Did you pass by the Statue of Liberty?

How did you dress for most of the cruise? Jeans and t-shirts? Long sleeves? Will a hoodie suffice or should we plan on fleece jackets? We cruised Alaska a few years ago so I'm familiar with dressing in layers. What's the dining room dress like in the evenings? Can we get away with jeans or should we pack khakis? What about kids? Do they need dresses or are leggings and t-shirts ok? 

We currently have late dining, but I'm planning to switch to my time dining on board and make a reservation for each night, is that a good plan? Thanks!

Do you have copies of the Compass by any chance?

Bar Harbor - what time was the last tender? I think we are listed as being there until 6, is the last tender at 6 or earlier?

Edited July 4, 2019 by snoopy5386

[wineandbeach]

All Aboard was 5:30.  We got in line about 4:10 and stepped on the ship at 5:30.  There were at least 2 tenders (maybe more) behind us and the tender boats were whale watching ships that hold a lot of people.

 

We dressed in sundresses or capris and nice shirts for both dinner and excursions.  We only needed sweatshirts or long pants to go outside at night and sea days.  

[lynaberk]

Can you tell me how much water, soda and wine can be taken aboard

[lynaberk]

Thank you for the review.  Did they allow water to be checked in with luggage or in carry on.

[Clarea]

6 hours ago, lynaberk said:

Can you tell me how much water, soda and wine can be taken aboard

 

Two bottles of wine per stateroom, each no larger than 750ml.

 

Twelve factory sealed containers of non-alcoholic beverages per stateroom, each no larger than 500ml.

 

All must be carried on.